AN ACT to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §19-1A-3b, relating
to creating the offense of timber theft from state forests;
providing the Division of Forestry authority to investigate
and enforce timber theft violations in state forests for
research and investigative purposes; directing the Division of
Forestry to create and maintain a central registry of
information relating to timber theft from state forests; and
setting forth criminal and civil penalties.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §19-1A-3b, to read as
follows:

(a) Timber theft is the misappropriation or taking of timber
belonging to another, or proceeds derived from the sale of timber,
either taken without the consent of the owner, or by means of
fraudulent conduct, practices or representations, with the intent
to deprive the owner permanently of the timber or proceeds derived
therefrom.

(b) The Division of Forestry has the primary responsibility
for the collection, preparation and central registry of information
relating to timber theft in state forests. The division has the
authority to investigate and enforce the provisions of this section
when violations occur in state forests. The division may assist
law-enforcement agencies in investigations of violations of the
provisions of subsection (b), section forty-eight, article three,
chapter sixty-one of this code when requested.

(c) Criminal and civil penalties. -- A person who commits
timber theft in a state forest where the timber taken is of a value
of $25,000 or less is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined
not more than $5,000 or confined in jail for not more than one
year, or both.A person who commits timber theft in a state forest
where the timber taken is of a value of $25,000 or more is guilty
of a felony and shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned
in a state correctional facility for not more than five years, or
both. In addition to any fines and costs that may be assessed by
the court, a person convicted of a violation of this section shall
be ordered to pay a $500 civil penalty to the division within sixty
days of the entry of a final order of conviction. The civil penalty
shall be collected by the court in which the person is convicted
and forwarded to the State Treasurer for deposit in the Division of
Forestry Fund (3081) for use in administering the provisions of
this section.